Florentine Memories

By Kristen Wharton

My time abroad began in Florence, Italy. As an Art History major, this city captured my heart, mind, and soul. The quintessential Florentine streets lined with facades of rusticated stone were a constant thrill to meander through. In the winter especially, this city maintains much of its 16^th century charm. If the architecture itself wasn’t enough, the general ambiance of this city has the ability to transcend you to the time when the Medici family, Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Michelangelo roamed these very streets.

But Art History nerd in me aside, this city is truly breathtaking. I remember at the end of my first week in Florence I went for a run from our home on Via Romana down to the Ponte Vecchio and along the Arno, then up the hill to the stunning Romanesque basilica, San Minato al Monte. The road that sits right below the church, ropes around the hill to reveal the most wonderful panorama of the city. I was running along this road, literally watching this city reveal itself step by step under the “pre-sunset” sky. So captivated and entranced by the beauty of this city, I wanted to capture it and hold on to this moment forever. 

I decided to run home to grab my camera, hoping to make it back up to this spot to catch the sunset. Sprinting down the narrow streets, Italians staring at this clearly crazed foreigner, I quickly grabbed my camera and took back off towards my spot. So excited that I made it in time, I went to take my first shot…..only to find I had drained my battery while uploading pictures the night before. I just kind of gave an accepting smile, a bit humored by the fact that life always has a funny way of making the most memorable moments at a time when it is impossible to capture them in any other form but in your mind.I should know by now that putting a camera up to your face separates your eyes from your memory. Maybe it is best that instead of taking the picture with a machine, I captured it entirely naturally. A raw memory only for me.  

Here, I had found my sanctuary, a place of peace and clarity, of pure, uninhibited beauty. I had also just experienced something quite remarkable, almost like a physical burden being lifted off my shoulders, for it was at this moment that I allowed myself to let go.

The Trevi Fountain in Rome